CLARKSVILLE, Mo. — Todd Robitsch, of Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, offers audiences a view of 32-year-old Phoenix during the annual Eagle Days celebration in Clarksville. The majestic female bird weighs more than 13 pounds. Another eagle, a male named Truman, also was featured.

Despite dreary weather, crowds flocked to The Apple Shed along Highway 79 for eagle programs and vendor booths. The two-day event Jan. 30 and 31 was sponsored by the Clarksville Community Chamber of Commerce.

Donna Mueller of Dickerson Park Zoo said the outlook for eagles in the wild remains good, with more than 500 nests in Missouri – more than the total for the entire nation in the 1960s.

Bald eagles nest during the winter in Clarksville and other Mississippi River communities because they can fish in open waters near locks and dams.